


Beware, Mixing those Two can Lead to a Thermonuclear Holocaust

by SubutaiKhan



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-23 14:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7466673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SubutaiKhan/pseuds/SubutaiKhan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Kibougamine Gakuen, some time after the beginning of the Killing Game.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>Silence in the hallways and rooms. There’s not a sound, not a voice, nothing. Put a tumbleweed and the picture is perfect.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>Things are this way because the last two people in the building don’t usually make a lot of noise, unless it’s a life-or-death situation. Even then they hesitate.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>Let’s go to the cafeteria, that’s where we will find them.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beware, Mixing those Two can Lead to a Thermonuclear Holocaust

Kibougamine Gakuen, some time after the beginning of the Killing Game.

Silence in the hallways and rooms. There’s not a sound, not a voice, nothing. Put a tumbleweed and the picture is perfect.

Things are this way because the last two people in the building don’t usually make a lot of noise, unless it’s a life-or-death situation. Even then they hesitate.

Let’s go to the cafeteria, that’s where we will find them.

Here they are. Seated one before the other, they’re both sipping from a cup. Probably royal tea for her and black coffee for him.

There’s a knife near the two of them, one for each. They were taken before from the kitchen.

On the table a perplexed Monokuma is looking at them.

“You people are strange, you know?” it says without any trace of passion. It seems incapable of understanding, but we don’t know what he doesn’t understand or why.

They don’t even need to remark anything.

“Repeat it to me another time, c’mon. I wanna laugh again at your iffy decision making skill”.

Silence.

“Okay, I get it. You don’t want to tell me. I can’t see why but whatever, that’s fine. Well then, I’ll narrate and you will stop me if I say something wrong, alright?”.

Still silence.

“I’ll go as if I had your blessings. Let me recap your nefarious plan: in the end of all that you went through, with liberty within your grasp, you decided to duel to death… because there can be only one, like in Highlander? Am I right?”.

Nothing.

“I’m at a loss. Right now that’s the stupidest thing you can come up with. You two have won the game. You deceived all the others, looking on with a satisfied smile while I was butchering them. Furthermore, if I can say so, you were diabolical in your scheme. A double murder meticulously planned, working around the rules with simple finesse. Brilliant. And the trial… wow, you were like a couple of devils. You led those poor bastards into a mad, hopeless dead end. Really, it was the most exciting trial ever. You were fabulous my boys, fabulous”.

“Your juvenile flattery does not faze me” he finally says, putting the cup down. It’s empty, so for all he cares they can start. Therefore he grabs his knife and gets up, chivalrously waiting for her to finish.

“I don’t understand” Monokuma says again “If you really did decide to kill each other, what are you waiting for? You’re not Gwen Stefani! Gut her!”.

“You are too inferior a lifeform to really grasp a pact between a gentleman and a dame”.

“I must agree with my companion” she comments while taking the last sips of tea “But after all, what could we expect from this ursine toy made up of transistors?”.

“It’s beyond its possibility, yes. Hoping that a bunch of electrical cables could realize what honor is… unsophisticated on my part, I must admit”.

“You’re pissing me off! Want me to kill both of you right now?”.

“Please. Following your own sacred rules, he and I are free from your yoke. We didn’t leave this place, even though we could, because we still have this to settle”.

“Correct. And now, if you could kindly step aside, me and the lady have something to discuss”.

“Mpf. Whatever, fuckheads. Just try not to mess up the tables, it’s not simple to wash away the dry bloodstains. I’ll be back to open the door to whoever wins your duel”. Then it vanished, leaving them alone.

In her HQ Junko Enoshima is rubbing her hands. This is one of the best outcomes she could have. She can’t wait to savor the despair on the loser’s face, the one who almost won the prize but was denied by his or her incompetence. Of course she will not hold back from twisting the knife in the wound, physically if need be, and adding salt in their last moments.

“My dears, you can’t even imagine how much despairingly satisfaction you’re giving me. I’m a very lucky headmaster, yes I am”.

In a matter of seconds she finishes drinking. She grabs the knife and gets up.

About three meters separate them. They look calm, not betraying anything. Even if, you can count on that, they’re not really that impassive masks.

That’s because, contrary to what they are showing, both are touching in a very real way the possibility to evade from this nightmare made up by an insomniac psychopath.

They are sure of themselves and they really believe to be the one that will rise above the corpses of them all. And in that pile there will be the other half of their duo of Bonnie and Clyde reborn.

No regrets. No remorse. Everything went as it should have been and what they’re living is the obvious, right conclusion.

That’s what they devised, ever since that day. And that’s what they got. They didn’t ask for anything different. And besides, when two people like them join forces the end result is what they wanted 99% of the time.

“So, do we want to begin?”.

“Of course. We are here for a reason”.

“I’ll gladly kill an amazing partner like you, Byakuya”.

“Celes, I will not find again someone worthy of me and I guess a lesser person would be moved to tears. Not me”.

They grin like hyenas.

 

*

 

_Two weeks before._

I’m… impressed, I must say.

We are walking out of the trial room and my eyes could not break off from Togami, who is a little ahead of me. I hope I’m not being too flagrant.

We just sent that human thrash Oowada to his death, guilty of killing Fujisaki in a fit of anger. Trivial motivation, shoddy execution and not a ounce of style.

Boring.

Nonetheless there has been something amusing, lucky me. Someone came up with a prank, making it look like it was a Genocider Syo's murder. That someone is obviously the man I’m watching while we are entering the elevator to go upstairs.

He did not need a pretext. He acted just because he wanted to and, just like me, he was bored.

I feel a strange affinity. Obscure since we have different backgrounds and social standings, but it’s here the same.

I was planning something but now, taking this development into account, my schedule can change. My head is cooking up an idea that will probably get me killed, but I’m willing to play with destiny. Not to say I’m really good with this kind of things, am I not? In the worst scenario I will die of my own volition and not because this gang of weenies got screwed. If everything goes like I hope, instead, I will have my passport to liberty.

Yamada, I’m afraid you lost your chance to be used like a dummy. It’s a privilege given to a selected few and you just got unlucky. My heart aches for you.

“Pfah! We somehow got out alive again”.

“Fujisaki-kun, Oowada-kun… we’ll make it for you too, I promise…”.

“Kyōdai! Kyōdai!”.

“Oowada-dono committed a horrible crime”.

Oh please, shut up.

 

TOC TOC.

“What do you want, Ludenberg?”.

“Are you going to make me come in, or do you prefer to leave a lady begging for ten minutes of your time in the middle of a hallway?”.

He says nothing, he just starts to touch my clothes. I put up my hands, understanding his desire for a full body search.

My intentions are not aggressive, but I see how a private visit could become a bloodbath.

“You’re clean. Come on”.

I follow him into his room. Stern as I thought, it perfectly reflects the soul of his owner.

Cold order and nothing redundant.

Yes, I do believe we will get along just fine.

He motions for me to sit, doing the same opposite of my position: “So, what brings you here?”.

“After seeing you putting up that lovely performance with Fujisaki’s body… well, I think I can say you are my ideal partner”.

“Partner? If you’re implying some sordid sex kink I must decline, the woman deserving to deflower me has yet to be born”.

I sigh, a little disgusted. How can he be so depraved.

“The standard vulgarity from Monokuma was not enough, I needed an extra dose when I intended to discuss important matters”.

“Okay, okay. I take it back”.

“That is better. And now, if you would kindly let me explain…”.

“Please do”.

“I am plotting a murder”.

I stop to study his reaction and, just as I thought, his neutral expression doesn’t change. I don’t see why it should have, considering his previous actions and words.

“And this involves me because…”.

“Because, before wasting precious time with senseless trifles, I did hint at a partner. I want to… let’s say I am in the mood for experimentation, and most importantly a little help would be appreciated”.

“You’re asking me to work together?”.

“Precisely”.

“I refuse. An accomplice gets no advantage, and that is if the plan goes as intended”.

“And who said you would be a simple accomplice? I am offering you a business partnership, serious stuff”.

My usage of a terminology he’s accustomed to helps to capture his attention. He’s much more focused than ten seconds ago.

“Fifty fifty?”.

“Fifty fifty. Associates, at the same level”.

“This complicates things”.

“How?”.

“If you’re not here to exploit me, and I hope for you it’s not the case… how do we circumvent that rule?”.

The question is legitimate and I must admit I didn’t think of an answer.

We look at each other for a while, not knowing what to say. The obstacle is harder than I could have expected and this doesn’t help my cause in his mind. For truth’s sake he doesn’t came up immediately with a solution, meaning that the enigma is quite difficult.

It’s not my voice that breaks the impasse: “Well Ludenberg, if you don’t find a way to unravel the knot, I’m afraid our joint venture has gone bankrupt even before launch” he says getting up.

“You could lend me a hand, my indolent knight”.

“First: I’m nobody’s knight. Second: you are the one who came here to disturb me with this bizarre proposition. It’s up to you to solve the problems it presents”.

Then, out of the blue, the stroke of genius.

What about…

“Togami, wait a second. I think I just had the right idea”.

He looks smugly at me, probably thinking this is my way of stalling or something equally inane. He sits back down and tells me to explain.

“The question is: how do we operate if we kill a single person. Fatally one of us would be considered the real culprit and the other just their partner in crime, making the basis of our pact null and void. Well, there really is an easy stratagem: we kill two. I kill one person and you kill another”.

He’s astonished, for the first time I can remember. I must have said something really clever.

“If put this way it could work, sure. Because…”.

“...we would be both culprits of a death. Do you understand, dear Monokuma?” I ask moving my head towards the nearest video camera. I want to make myself really clear: I, Celestia Ludenberg, and Byakuya Togami are the twin architects. Woe to you if you just dare to change this, rag bear.

Why not keeping things simple, someone distrustful may ask. Why not act underhanded with him, like you wanted to with Yamada, and put yourself in a not so controlling place in your association? Like I said before, I’m in the mood for a bit of unnecessary risk. For the last period before being imprisoned here, my life as a gambler was flat as a surfer’s board.

I won. I won. I won.

No thrill, no possible specter of a defeat. Nothing. The most atrocious tedium.

I need an adrenaline shot. And only the person in front of me right now can give it to me, because I’m sincerely convinced I will get nothing better by associating with one of those dumbasses out there.

I mean, the thrill is okay but I can’t waste time in pathetic attempts made by pathetic people.

Besides only exposing myself like this can assure me of his assistance, because he proved two seconds ago that he will not budge for something less. And I expected that from him.

“And tell me” he starts to talk again, distracting me from my considerations “did you already pinpoint our feasible victims?”.

“I believe you will agree with me when I say our best targets are, without the shadow of a doubt, Kyouko Kirigiri and Makoto Naegi. Those two are too smart to let them roam around picking up clues and listening to testimonies”.

“I concur. While it’s true that I just wanted to amuse myself and I didn’t put too much attention in the details, he dismantled my act with disarming ease. While she… she seems to be born for this. Her analytical mind and deductive reasoning are incredible, and those are things I’d appreciate not being present in a trial for a crime I committed. Especially Kirigiri can’t enter the court”.

I knew you would get my point of view, Togami.

“Wait, we are going a little too fast” he suddenly says in a worried tone.

“Uh? What do you mean? We do not need to begin now, we still have nothing decided and…”.

“No. I’m talking about you”.

What? I don’t get what you’re saying, dear.

“How can I be sure you will not try to stab me in the back when you can, Queen of Liars?”.

Oh. Oh.

To be honest I can’t blame him for this line of reasoning, I guess it’s natural feeling the need to protect yourself while dealing with a compulsive untruthful person like myself. I’m the first one who doesn’t trust me.

But luckily I had been cautious. For this reason I don’t get agitated when I pull out of my dress a piece of paper and my favourite pen.

Then, under his vigilant gaze, I start to write what I have to.

 

_To whoever is reading this_

_I the undersigned Celestia Ludenberg, while in possession of all my mental faculties, hereby declare to be the second person behind the plan that Byakuya Togami was conducting. If you’re reading this letter that means he is dead and I am alive, and if I know myself I am laughing behind his back. This goes against the meaning of our initiative, hence this deed is meant to serve as a form of guarantee for my accomplice._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Celestia Ludenberg_

 

I sign it and show it to him.

“What should this rubbish represent, Ludenberg?”.

“You cannot say? Oh my, you are shocking me. Let me explain in simple words: if I will reconsider and decide to betray you, this thing will serve to pin the blame on me, being written and signed by my own hand. And if the situation comes to that, be aware that having the blame pinned on me would be the last thing I would like to see. So be careful to hide this letter in a place where my clawed fingers cannot reach it and you will be fine. Even if it is not my intention to be duplicitous, I perfectly understand your diffidence”.

He examines it for a while longer, then he seems to concede his approval: “Yes, I think I can consider myself satisfied. Naturally I trust we will not come to this, it would be… inconvenient”.

“Rest assured, it will not happen. Now, if you would be so gracious to do the same…”.

“I’m sorry?”.

“I am not faultless and we both know it, but the same is true for you and we both know it. I am officially asking you to write a full confession”.

“This… this is outrageous”.

“It is not. It is just me not being stupidly naive with someone who is capable of being devious as I am. Come on, it is just a wise precaution to prevent blows below the belt. As you have seen I did not hesitate, what is blocking you from doing the same?”.

“Bah. As you wish”. He gets up and takes another piece of paper. He grabs the pen and starts writing.

 

_To whoever is reading this_

_I the undersigned Byakuya Togami, while in possession of all my mental faculties, hereby declare to be the second person behind the plan that Celestia Ludenberg was conducting. If you’re reading this letter that means she’s dead and I’m alive, and if I know myself I’m being totally indifferent. This goes against the meaning of our initiative, hence this deed is meant to serve as a form of guarantee for my accomplice._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Byakuya Togami_

 

“So now we are bound by a blood covenant”.

“Don’t be melodramatic, you will cause me a migraine”.

“Oh please Togami, have a little verve sometimes. Do not just live in the detached, aloof finance world”.

“...I’m thinking again about our agreement”.

“Whoops. Okay okay, I will stop. Now the two of us, you first and me second, will take their sheet. Calmly and without rash movements, okay?”.

“Okay”.

I feel tension in the air. If something bad is going to happen that time is now.

But everything is perfect. Thirty seconds later our right hands grip their respective document.

“Now that we have settled this matter” I smile “I would say we can begin to think of something. And since we are who we are, it will be well-structured, sly and unsolvable for those poor imbeciles. I suggest a handshake to seal the alliance”.

“Histrionic when not needed, that’s what you are” he remarks acidly while offering his left hand.

“If you do not know the bedrocks of tragedies and Faustian pacts it is not my fault” I respond, reciprocating.

“You were saying we can begin to assemble a plan, were you not?”.

“Yes. Why do you ask? Having second thoughts?”.

“No. I just wanted to say we aren’t in a hurry. We can keep a low profile and observe how the situation evolves without our intervention”.

Uhm. Yes, what he says is right. We can take our time, for now better stay back and gather information for when we will move into action.

“Fine by me. We will meet again in… mh, four days? Five?”.

“Five. After the curfew. In your room”.

“That is all right. I bid you adieu,  my raid mate”.

“...get out. Now”.

I get up laughing lightly, leaving him and his seriousness behind.

 

*

  
  
 

_Seven days later._

“At last. At last the moment has come”.

Celestia, seated in front of me, can’t maintain her composure for an excess of excitement.

Her room is surely kitsch as hell, though. Even if this is not the first time I have the misfortune of being here, it still strikes me for her horrible taste in furniture.

“Why are you so hectic, Ludenberg?”.

“What, my dear Byakuya? You don’t see how the stars are aligning for us?”.

Should I?

“No, I don’t. Would you kindly explain to me,  _mate_ ?”.

“Let me get this straight: you lack so much in social interaction and empathy you can’t even get that what happened yesterday is our key for success?”.

Yesterday Ishimaru the bumpkin ended the life of that noxious, dreadful, fetid thief of oxygen called Touko Fukawa. If what got out of the trial is true, it seems the source of discord were some offensive remarks she made about the late Oowada, making him react the exact same way his inseparable homoerotic friend did with Fujisaki. Even the results were exactly the same.

“In my world this pointless knowledge is key only to bankruptcy. So, in my elevated position, I’m mercifully spared from this nonsense. It will be your duty to enlighten me in these laughable matters for plebeians”.

“Bof. Why do I have to waste my breath? Alright, now I am going to make you understand what you should have understood on your own”.

My hand itches. Bizarre.

“There are few essential points, but try to follow me just the same because I like to compare myself to a famous Italian violinist. First of all there are fewer people and so fewer hurdles, but I guess this is self-evident even for you. The truly important thing is: there has been a clear, even embarrassing convergence between Kirigiri and Naegi”.

“How does it advantage us?”.

She sighs. What’s the name of this really stupid feeling she’s expressing now, obviously a deprecable thing that has nothing to do with me? Frustration?

“It will be easier to influence her, who is the more reserved of their wonder duo. Like you in a sense, even if the causes and the intents are surely different”.

“Oh no, don’t you dare to have a psychotherapy session with me as the patient. You couldn’t afford to ask the astronomical bill of my true therapist”.

“So even you go to the headshrinker. Fascinating”.

“...moving on, thank you very much”.

“Okay, okay. No need to get upset, it is not necessary. I will presume your memory is better than your sensitivity, so I will not need to remind you how the passionate speech made by Naegi defending his… what is the exact definition, his flame? Whatever, it is not important. As I was saying, the episode of him defending her with all his heart and soul despite her lack of an alibi caused, in our meddling lilac-haired detective, a reaction of… again, how to define it? He defrosted the ice queen? He brought to the surface deeply buried feelings? He…”.

“If I’m in a bad Shakespearean dramaturgy lesson I’d like to have my money back”.

“Oh my God, a girl cannot even enjoy a little poetic licence. Your mind is narrow and your life revolves around money, did anybody ever tell you that?”.

“Countless people. Now go on”.

“I clearly saw that now Kirigiri trusts her knight in shining armor, who put fear aside and faced the whole class just to claim her innocence. She trusts him a bit, at least. Since it is her we are talking about, nothing too spectacular but nonetheless a good starting point for us. Something we can exploit”.

“Do you intend to attack him and hope she comes to the rescue?”.

“Yes, that was my idea. And right now it is quite doable, a lot more than it was just a few days ago”.

I scratch my chin, perplexed. I must admit Celes’ argument is solid enough, because I see how you can use one of them and have the other react as we want (if their bond got deeper, that is). The problem is, it’s Kyouko Kirigiri we’re talking about. She’s the one-expression woman. Even I understand that. At least I range between irritated, bored and smug.

“Are you really sure it’s going to work? We can’t be certain she got soft enough to run at her wounded squire’s side”.

“True, we cannot say that for certain. But get ready, I am about to give you a devastating news: the world outside the Nikkei 225 works this way. Almost nothing is written in stone, even more when you are dealing with the emotional responses of a cold and discreet person like Kirigiri. I understand it may annoy you, used like you are to well defined schedules, but human interaction is a imperfect art”.

“This is so unconvincing…”.

“At this point we are so involved in this that the luxury of pulling back is not ours anymore, Togami. Each of us has the confession of the other half. You cannot withdraw”.

“Never said I was going to withdraw. I was just saying I don’t like where this is going”.

“If that makes you feel better, I assure you that the time to strike is now. Kirigiri, who is surely the harder of the two of them, is weak at the moment and we will not be able to sink our poisonous teeth in her if we do not move. It is simply now or never”.

I deepen my train of thought.

Am I up to risk it all, that’s what it is, to win the Killing Game? It’s hazardous, much more than the multitude of financial operations in my past.

I have to confess: I may die. It feels like playing with fire, and I do have many talents but I’m not fireproof. Especially if our dear headmaster wants to be theatrical with the executions like he was with all those other idiots.

But, even though it irks me to no end I must concede defeat, Celestia looks very confident in her idea. And she’s undoubtedly more skilled than me in that field.

It could be worth the effort. Let’s just…

“I still think it’s risky, but I’m ready to help you in your odd endeavor. On one condition”.

“What condition?”.

“My condition is easy: when it will be just the two of us… we will duel”.

“You are kidding”.

“You heard me, Ludenberg. In this game there can only be one winner. And I will be it”.

“...so you are saying that, even if the plan goes flawlessly, there is still the concrete possibility I will not escape this place alive?”.

“I am. This is my price, take it or leave it”.

“You are amusing yourself to no end, is it not true Byakuya? You scoundrel”.

“You have no idea how much”.

She bites her lip. She seems conflicted: “You see how stupid what you proposed is, do you not?”

“No, I don’t. There’s nothing stupid, it’s just pragmatism and compliance of the rules. Only one winner, above a multitude of losers. Even their partner”.

“You play too much with stocks”.

“Maybe. Or maybe you don’t remember that even in poker there’s no draw at the end of the game. And if you happened to forget what you said to me mere moments ago, I must remind you that no is not a valid answer now”.

My reference to her favourite gambling game changes something in her face. Something that makes her smile.

“Furthermore, were you not the one seeking a thrill? What’s more thrilling than see your own diabolical project coming to fruition with the still present option of failing? Aren’t you hot and bothered by that?”.

“Togami, if you learned the fine art of rhetoric in the last seven seconds… congratulations, for real”.

“Gracias, señorita”.

A moment of pause, in which she looks at me brooding.

Then she opens her mouth: “Okay, what you are saying makes sense. You will have your final showdown. I still cannot see the reason that pushed you to come up with a clause so absurd…”.

“Don’t linger on such trivialities”.

“It is not a triviality. You seem to not understand how dangerous what you proposed really is. Do you realize you could be the one who loses?”.

“I’m confident in myself and in my qualities”.

“You are not confident, you are arrogant. And the more arrogant you are, the more noise you make when you fall”.

“What did I say about psychoanalyzing me, Celestia?”.

“You are deliciously touchy” she chuckles “Ah, you are clearly not competent enough to manipulate someone like Kirigiri, so I will be the one to do it. But, to compensate and keep things equal in our criminal conspiracy, you will do the same to Naegi. I trust there are no objections”.

“Not one”.

“Any preference for your prey?”.

“You manipulate X, you kill X. Otherwise it will be unnecessarily difficult”.

“I agree”.

“Okay, we are finished here. Or is there something else you have to say or do to vex me?”.

“You can go. Call me when you have a plan. Goodbye, Togami”.

“Goodbye, Ludenberg”.

_...did she whisper “fucking scion”?_

 

*

 

_Six days later._

Very well. Time to enact the project and hope the kami, or whoever it is who decides, assist us. Because even two aces like me and Togami can’t, just can’t predict the modus operandi of a free soul like Kirigiri without the slightest margin of error.

Today’s announcement by Monokuma, during which it revealed the presence of a spy in our midst, surely helps us. More doubts, less group hugs. Moreover we now have a better opportunity to catch Naegi and, when it’s done, hook her too.

Killing him is Byakuya’s task, so I won’t put too much attention into it. I just need to know when and how he wants to do it, in order to… crap, it’s harder than I thought. After all double murders work this way. I’m starting to think I could have done it myself.

Whatever, whatever. The die is cast, the Rubicon is behind us and you can glimpse Rome from here.

My weapon of choice is a vial of tetrodotoxin, found in the chemical lab’s cabinet on the fourth floor. It’s the poison which courses through blowfishes. It seems a handful of milligrams is sufficient to paralyze and then kill someone.

I think I can simply use a needle. I find it a quite tidy method, befitting of me. I would not tolerate knifes and screams and blood on the clothes. Such barbarity.

From what I know my beloved mate is going to use the tetrodotoxin too. That doesn’t surprise me, I envision him the same as me in that regard. Luckily he told me, we got spared from something like “Ehi, where is my poison? I don’t have the poison for my murder anymore! Damn it!”.

Scene of the tragedy: Makoto Naegi’s room. It’ll be up to me to make Kyouko Kirigiri go there. When he told me he snickered, that little bugger. He probably thought that was a curveball, but it’s clear as day he doesn’t know how much I deserve my Queen of Liars’ title.

It’s almost time. Following his agenda he was going into action just after the curfew and, according to the poison’s mode of operation and how I was informed, I was to be ready a couple of hours after that. Always assuming he didn’t make mistakes. But I trust him enough, I can even say I hope in him, to believe everything went smoothly.

I exit my room and position myself in the point I chose in the hall outside the cafeteria, of course when I’m sure there are no witnesses and the door to Naegi’s room is half-open. Good job, Togami.

I sit, back on the wall and my head on my knees.

And now it’s that time.

You must know, my dear fans, that Ludenberg’s system for lying is bombproof because, just like the Stanislavskij’s, requires total identification between actor and character. So, for the next few hours, I will really be a frightened girl scared by what she saw happening to one of her classmates, who’s lying on the floor frothing at the mouth. Unpleasant byproduct of the tetrodotoxin, you know.

If Kirigiri is not going to believe me it won’t be because I didn’t put enough effort, you can be sure of that.

Now shut up, I need to focus.

…

…

...

“Celes? What are you doing here in the hallway?”.

I raise my head, not knowing how much time has passed since that horrible discovery. In front of me there’s Kirigiri, as you could easily expect.

“You okay? You look… awful”.

Oh? Tears?

“N-No, I am not okay… I am scared shitless. What I had seen… oh God…”.

“What? Don’t keep me hanging!” she says with a great dose of force, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. She helps me to get up, but the effort is all hers. I can’t even do that, upset as I am.

“C’mon, explain to me what happened!”.

“I was… I was worried… for this spy’s thing… and… and so I was roaming around for…”.

“Cut to the chase, I don’t have all night”.

I take a step back, afraid. Never saw her being so aggressive. She seems to not understand consideration for traumatized people.

“N-Naegi… I don’t know what it is… but… but… he is not well… he passed out in his room or something, I do not know… I fear he has been… he has been attacked…”.

A flash in her eyes (maybe worry?) before the usual icy gaze returns: “I should believe that Celestia Ludenberg, the Super Gambler made of titanium, frost and selfishness… can get so freaked out by an aggression? Besides it’s not even the first time this happens. What are you hiding from me?”.

“I am not hiding anything… maybe… maybe I am simply incapable of continuing the farce… of the hard, uncaring woman. Is it so impossible to believe?”.

“I frankly find it unlikely, yes”.

We stare at each other for a looooooooong moment. And the more she manifests diffidence, the more I feel like I’m being ripped in a million pieces.

I dry off the tears with my clawed finger, saying out loud what would be said by everyone in my current situation: “Look at me… do you really think… I am bluffing? How insolent...and how good of an actor should I be for… oh please, he was suffering! Instead… instead of wasting time here… with your stupid objections… we should aid him…”.

Her left hand closes in a fist. Her forehead tenses. Her pupils become two slits.

I hope I can bring her back to reason. That poor sod needs immediate medical attention.

“I’d just like to understand how you came to this. Right now you’re not Celestia Ludenberg as we know her, you are… a nervous puppy. At least, that’s what you’re trying to make me believe”.

I look away, hurt by her disbelief. I just want to do something right!

To be honest I have a way of making her move, and that would be to bring up their new… feeling. A bit more of a feeling, if I wanted to be naughty. But it would be a cheap shot, I don’t want to. 

“Go… go on your own, then! I will.. will go whine... somewhere… trying to get back my composure… I cannot let the others see… me like this… or I will be the next victim…”.

“You’re mocking me, Celes. You must be, I’m sure of it. You’re not the kind of person who puts up such a charade”.

“You are wrong… that is precisely why, even… even though I am not what I appear to be… I adopted the facade of… the heartless woman… but… but now… too many hits of the pickaxe… on my defensive wall…” I let out, overwhelmed by emotional strain. I let myself drop on my knees, stifling with some effort a lot of not really refined noises.

And in that moment, demonstrating an unusual and sudden burst of kindness, she understands I’m not trying to fool her: she offers her hand to help me up, on her face a less inquisitory expression.

“Let me be clear: I don’t believe you. But to tell the truth I now have a little doubt and so, just for this once, I will be cooperative. C’mon, get up”.

Hooray.

I smile while accepting her offer.

“Can you walk by yourself?”.

“I t-think I do, yes. I-I am just… go see him…”.

“I’m going to escort you for a while. So I won’t give you my back”.

Mpf. You're always cautious. Even if I clearly saw her wish to bolt away. I guess she really does want to make sure how he is.

I anticipate her while we go.

We pass in front of Naegi’s room. The door is slightly open, just like I left it when I ran away in fear.

I hear her stopping.

“You go” I encourage her “I will be okay somehow”.

“You’re a snake, Ludenberg”.

“This is not true. I am more fragile than what I try to appear, and you saw that tonight”.

“Or maybe you’re an Oscar-worthy actress”.

“I am not, I swear. Now go, he was in a pretty bad shape”.

She hesitates. Seems like she’s fighting with something which is not letting her go.

I continue in my work of persuasion.

Go, for all that’s holy. Go and see how he is.

Finally she relents. I can see her back.

…

…

…

Back to the steering wheel.

Without losing an instant I take out the needle and, as fast as I can, prick her on the neck.

I must have exaggerated with the dose, because she crashes down like a tree after it meets a woodsman. In theory the effects of the poison should start to manifest in a matter of minutes, not instantaneously.

Oh well, I like this better.

“C-Curse… curse you… you bastard… I knew it…”.

“You knew and you fell for it nonetheless. Kirigiri invincibility’s aura just got crushed by my stilettos. But let me tell you this, to not let you die in an unjust dishonor: I was not lying”.

“What… what do you mean?”.

“I was not lying. I was so immersed in the part that I really believed in what I said and thought. When I turned around, offended? I was really offended. When I swore I was not an Oscar-worthy actress? I really did not believe that”.

She mumbles something, I guess her disapproval. And right now I don’t blame her for that, I see why she feels this way.

“It was as if I was having an episode of DID” I say again while I drag her in, of course after being sure of the lack of witnesses “Like the late Fukawa with Genocider, in a sense. The difference is that I control this thing at will and so I can exploit it, just like I did now. You see, I even thought I saw Naegi when that is not what happened, since he was my mate’s victim”.

Now she gurgles, not able to assemble a single word. I must have used half a liter of that toxin.

I think she was trying to complain about our sweet innocent plan and, more importantly, about the discovery that this night she won’t be the only one to leave the land of the living.

I place her near her companion for the journey, not without a bit of an effort. She’s on the right, he’s on the left. I don’t have to say I already took back the weapon, being scrupulous about handling it. And I’m glad I didn’t have to compensate for Togami, who was a good boy and did the same with Naegi.

Awwwwwww. They’re really lovely.

The most sentimental and lout part of me makes me do a series of stupid things, like rotating their heads to make them look at each other and even unite their hands.

I’d swear she’s staring at him. He can’t do the same, consumed by the blowfish.

“Naegi, even if you cannot hear me. And Kirigiri, I know you can hear me. I would just like to say it was nothing personal. You two were simply too smart for your own good, and leaving you free to catch us during the trial is not what we want. In this position you almost seem like Romeo and Juliet and you are really really sweet, but I do understand that hearing one of your killers say it sounds like mockery. I apologize for that, it is not my intention. At this point of the game it would be frivolous on my part. I hope you pass away peacefully and painlessly. That said, Kyouko, I want to do something”.

I peel off her glove. I’ve always wondered what they’re concealing.

Wow. Her hand is… wow. Her hand is completely covered in burns.

“Yuck. A bad experience, I would guess. Those scars are terrible and a bit disgusting, I can see why you did not want to show them to the world”.

I put it back into place, I really don’t want to humiliate her. Then I get up, dusting off my skirt.  
“Okay. Now, my dears, it is time for me to go to bed. A tiring day this was, and especially a tiring night this was. Bid me and Togami good luck. I do not mind if you will not, I understand you probably want us on your side to get revenge”.

I leave whistling.

 

*

 

“Upupupupupupupupupupupu. Fifteen little soldier boys were imprisoned. A double murder happened, and then there were two. One found a blade in their throat and then there was one. This is wonderful, exciting, electrifying” says a pleased Monokuma while opening the massive door for the last surviving student. They, having multiple wounds, can’t or don’t want to comment.

“Are you sure you don’t want a paper certificate, best student of the class? You deserve it. It’d be good to hang it up on a ruined wall of your room at home” the bear goes on, still bashing its metaphorical head against their wall of denial.

“Okay, I see. You’re not interested. Whatever, all that matters is that you trampled on those foul good-for-nothings to claim your liberty and Monokuma’s approval. In your eyes there is… oh please, sorrow? Tell me you aren’t trying to make me believe that you’re... sorry for killing your companion. Really? After all those pretentious speeches about honor and a gentleman and a dame’s pact? And now… you feel miserable. You kids can’t be happy with the good in your lives, that’s the truth. When I was young your reward would have been a spank on the ass and no supper”.

The toy bursts into laughter, too caught in the act to avoid a spit on its nose. It ignores and continues to sneer.

Then the gate opens and the last representative of class 78 is able to venture outside. They walk slowly, ignoring the umpteenth congratulations and tirades of the demented mind responsible for that madness.

“I did it, I really did it…” they murmur. Subsequently falling on the ground, courtesy of their massive blood loss, a handful of meters from the entrance.

**Author's Note:**

> Notes, huh.  
> I'm not one for long speeches. I just have to say that I wrote this story two years ago, but just recently got up to the task of translating it from my mother tongue (Italian). I hope it will not be difficult to understand, because my English is probably not quite perfect.  
> Thank you in advance for all comments, kudos and whatever.


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